PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers football head coach Greg Schiano announced updates to the defensive staff on Tuesday. The Scarlet Knights welcome Colin Ferrell (defensive line coach) and Julian Campenni (defensive ends coach) to the staff, while defensive coordinator Joe Harasymiak will oversee linebackers. Marquise Watson is transitioning to an off-field role.

"Colin and Julian are excellent football coaches and great recruiters," Schiano said. "Their expertise will play an important role in the progression of our defense and defensive line. We would like to welcome both to the Rutgers football family.

"I also want to ask for your continued support of Marquise as he recovers. He is a big part of this program and someone who will continue to impact and develop the young men in our program."

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COLIN FERRELL
A native of Hamilton, New Jersey, Ferrell is back in the Garden State after spending the previous 11 seasons on the staff at Kent State. He joined the Golden Flashes as a graduate assistant before being promoted to defensive line coach in 2016. The stint included working with outside linebackers, serving as interim head coach in 2017 and being named one of the top recruiters in the Mid-American Conference.

This past season, Ferrell mentored Third Team All-MAC selection CJ West, who posted seven tackles-for-loss among 40 overall stops for the defense.

In 2021, Ferrell's defensive line was a big part of the Flashes' seven-win season. They helped the unit create 25 total turnovers, 10^th nationally. That followed a 3-1 2020 season that saw the defense hold Eastern Michigan to 61 rushing yards in the season opener.

Ferrell led the defensive line and helped the Golden Flashes to their first bowl win in program history in 2019 with a 51-41 victory over Utah State in the Tropical Smoothie Cafe Frisco Bowl. He coached Theo Majette, who earned Third Team All-MAC honors. Majette tallied a team-high 5.5 sacks along with 40 tackles and a forced fumble.

Following the February signing period of 2019, Ferrell was rated as one of the top-five recruiters in the MAC by 247Sports. He played an integral role in netting the fifth-best class in the conference for 2018 and the fourth-best in 2019.

Ferrell was promoted to a full-time assistant in 2016 after spending three seasons as a defensive graduate assistant. In 2017, nose tackle Jon Cunningham claimed All-MAC honors, while defensive end Matt Sommers was named to the Academic All-MAC Team.

In 2016, two Kent State defensive linemen earned All-MAC honors, including first-team honors for Terence Waugh, his second career selection. Theo Eboigbe was named to the Academic All-MAC Team.

In 2015, Ferrell helped the Flashes rank third in the MAC in both total defense and pass defense and fourth in rushing defense. As a graduate assistant, Ferrell's main focus was with the defensive line, where Waugh was named to the All-MAC First Team.

Prior to Kent State, Ferrell spent four seasons as a high school coach, including three at The Hun School in Princeton, New Jersey and one at Steinert in Hamilton, New Jersey.

A four-year letterwinner on the defensive line with the Golden Flashes from 2004-07, Ferrell was an All-MAC First Team selection and team captain as a senior. He is currently fifth in school history with 45.5 tackles-for-loss during his career. He then signed as a free agent with the Indianapolis Colts, playing throughout the 2008 preseason.

Ferrell was an all-state defensive lineman at Steinert High School and was inducted into Steinert's Athletic Hall of Fame.

He and his wife, Talea, have a daughter, Gayle.
 

PERSONAL

Hometown: Hamilton, N.J.
Alma Mater: Kent State, 2007
Wife: Talea
Child: Daughter, Gayle
 

COACHING HISTORY

2024-present: Rutgers (defensive line)
2019-23: Kent State (defensive line)
2018: Kent State (outside linebackers)
2017: Kent State (interim head coach)
2016-17: Kent State (defensive line)
2013-15: Kent State (graduate assistant)
2012: Steinert HS (assistant)
2009-11: The Hun School (assistant)

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JULIAN CAMPENNI
Campenni arrives in Piscataway after spending the last five years on the staff at Bowling Green. He coached the defensive line all five seasons, adding the responsibilities of defensive run game coordinator in 2022 and assistant head coach in 2023.

In 2023, the Falcons led the country with 28 turnovers gained and ranked 25^th in total defense (326.1) playing a schedule that faced three conference champions (Liberty, Michigan, Miami (Ohio)). The defense also paced the MAC with 11 fumble recoveries, placed third in the league in sacks (2.54) and fourth in rushing defense (146.2). Bowling Green finished 2023 with a winning season for the first time since 2015 and earned a bid to the Quick Lane Bowl.

The team posted 71 sacks the previous two seasons, the most over a two-year period in program history. In 2022, Campenni mentored Karl Brooks, a First Team All-America selection by Pro Football Focus who earned an invitation to the Reese's Senior Bowl and was drafted in the sixth round of the 2023 NFL Draft by the Green Bay Packers.

Prior to the 2022 season, Campenni spent part of the summer with the Green Bay Packers as part of the NFL's Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship.

Prior to his stint at Bowling Green, Campenni served as a graduate assistant at Boston College, focusing on the offensive line. He started his coaching career as defensive line coach at Wyoming Area High School in Pennsylvania in 2016, winning a conference championship.

A native of West Pittston, Pennsylvania, Campenni played in 47 career games with 38 starts on the defensive line at UConn. That included serving as a team captain and being named Second Team All-American Athletic Conference as a senior in 2015.
 

PERSONAL

Hometown: West Pittston, Pa.
Alma Mater: Connecticut, 2015
 

COACHING HISTORY

2024-present: Rutgers (defensive ends)
2023: Bowling Green (assistant head coach/defensive run game coordinator/defensive line)
2022: Bowling Green (defensive run game coordinator/defensive line)
2019-21: Bowling Green (defensive line)
2017-18: Boston College (graduate assistant)
2016: Wyoming Area HS (defensive line)

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